Suspect killer had claimed to have been a deputy

The Redondo Beach man suspected of killing a young woman and dumping her body by the side of a snow-covered road apparently lied to friends and co-workers about having a career in the military and law enforcement.

Details began to surface Monday about Tony Lopez Perez, the man expected to be charged and arraigned today in San Bernardino Superior Court for the murder of Torrance resident Cori Daye Desmond.

The 35-year-old apparently told at least one friend that he quit his job as a sheriff's deputy after his partner was killed in the line of duty - an experience apparently so traumatic that childhood friend Shannon Hoffman believed Perez was left "a little messed up in the head."

"He said it wasn't really a good experience so he went back into restaurant management," Hoffman said.

But there are no records of Perez serving as a sworn peace officer, said Los Angeles County Assistant Sheriff Paul Tanaka.

"I asked that we look into the matter as much as possible," Tanaka said. "Preliminarily, a check of computer records, a check of department files and a check with the investigating arresting agency reveals no known connection to law enforcement."

Perez apparently also told co-workers at a Torrance restaurant that he had served in the military.

While working at Houlihan's restaurant in Torrance until he was fired in 1999, Perez wore his hair in a buzz cut and walked like he marched with the troops - a characteristic co-worker Kimberly Brown attributed to the military background he described in stories.

Because of the Columbus Day holiday, Perez's military record could not be verified Monday.

San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies arrested Perez when he went to department headquarters to talk about the case Thursday night.

Desmond, 28, was last seen in the early morning hours of Feb. 15 leaving an Artesia Boulevard bar in Redondo Beach. Her body was found the next day stuffed in a bag near a snow-covered highway in Running Springs.

Detectives said Friday that they believed Perez's motive was "sexual."

He was allegedly linked to the crime after an anonymous tipster reported seeing Perez scrubbing and cleaning the inside of his truck, which he sold shortly thereafter.

Detectives recovered the vehicle from its new owner, reportedly finding evidence from the crime.

Perez is single and has two children, according to friends and his profile on the MySpace online networking Web site.

Hoffman, who has known Perez since elementary school, said Perez has worked at various restaurants as a manager.

One of eight children raised by a single mother, Perez attended Lincoln Elementary School in Redondo Beach and Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, Hoffman said.

"He was the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his own back if you were cold," Hoffman said. "If you were hungry, he would give you food."

As 17-year-olds, the two friends enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps together, but they both changed their minds after one of Perez's brothers shared his Desert Storm experience.

After high school, they worked together as bouncers at The Lighthouse restaurant in Hermosa Beach, but then drifted apart, Hoffman said.

Now living out of state, Hoffman said he looked Perez up a few years ago on a visit to the South Bay.

Hoffman and some friends and family went to dinner at the Daily Grill in Long Beach to see Perez, who was a manager there and seemed good at his job, his friend said.

Hoffman tried to find Perez again about eight months ago, but didn't have any luck.

After his mother told him the news of Perez's arrest last week, Hoffman said he felt devastated.

"It's just hard to fathom that somebody that you grew up with could possibly have done something of this nature," Hoffman said.

Brown, Perez's co-worker at Houlihans, was also shocked by Perez's arrest.

"I would have never thought he was capable of such evil or violence," Brown said. "It scares me to think this contemptible person was lying underneath the whole time."

She described Perez as having a "huge personality." He was popular with women, well-liked and helpful at the restaurant, which was located at Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance.

Perez once brought one of his sons, then 5 or 6 years old, who was the "spitting image" of his father, Brown remembered.

Brown last saw Perez a couple of years ago when she ran into him while he was working at a Tony Roma's restaurant in Redondo Beach.

As of Monday morning, Perez was listed as the general manager and executive chef on the Web site for the Spitfire Grill in Santa Monica, but a manager there would not comment about Perez.